Orla Kiely AW’13

February 18th, 2013

It seems kind of superfluous to add my voice to the chorus of OMG SO PRETTY surrounding the latest Orla Kiely collection, but I was there and it was in fact OMG SO PRETTY so here we are. That’s right, even my ice cold heart thawed a little on seeing this level of dedication to whimsy. Leith Clark and James Hatt did a beautiful job with the styling and set design respectively, upholding the tradition of Orla Kiely presentations being one of the most jolly on schedule.

Even the most tired grumpy cat (i.e. me) couldn’t help but be cheered by a row of models pretending to work in a little office, bless them. In the middle of a week of being “Strong! Fast! No Smiling!” or whatever the board backstage commands, I bet it was a nice rest for the girls to have a chat and a sit down too.

The Margot Tennenbaum inspired collection had lots of people thinking of Mad Men, but it reminded me of The Best of Everything in both the colour palette (dusky pink, mustard yellow) and the Typing Pool setting. The two pink looks and the velvet jacquard skirt suit in particular were fantastic and some of the others in the look book are just plain cool. I’m always happy to see some longer length skirts and girls in glasses too, so double thumbs up from me.

In other news: if you’re viewing this in a feed reader, you won’t see that I have a slightly changed and vastly better blog layout! I’ve been meaning to up the size of the images and improve the layout for mobile and tablet browsers for ages, so I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think!

Your photos are beyond cute. I do slightly worry for Leith Clark’s future though if the wind ever changes and 60s/70s kitten cuteness goes out of style. Hopefully not for a long time!
Also… THE BEST OF EVERYTHING – I’ve been trying to remember the name of this book for ages! Thank you! I still get upset at poor old Greg’s death.

Lovely clothes, but the ‘ladies in the typing pool’ concept kind of makes me sad. Not sure how I feel about what seems like nostalgia for a time when women had far less choices and were paid less than men.

Hi Jess, I have to say, I know what you mean. It’s possible to pay homage to something without necessarily agreeing with it, but I also think that we sort of fetishise these eras without any attempt at criticism. But I have to say – I love the pictures!

kris atomic says,

February 20th, 2013 @ 4:41 pm

You know, you’re absolutely right and I wonder why I didn’t even think about that until you mentioned it, as I’m usually pretty (over) sensitive about this kind of thing. Maybe it’s easier to think of the connotations when you don’t see it up close, because it just felt like a very aesthetically pleasing, fun presentation. I think in fashion theres a frequent tendency to grab inspiration for purely aesthetic reasons (which also explains all those dreadful magazine editorials where they ship models off to developing countries to pose with locals like they’re ornamental). Still, that’s no excuse to check out of our brains.

Like Hannah, I have loads of issues about the fetishising of the past. My favourite is when people moan about being born in the wrong era? REALLY, are you sure you as a woman would have preferred to live in the 1920s or whatever? Bullshit!

Thanks for the thoughtful response. Glad to hear I’m not the only one this bothers! Pretty pastel colour dresses and cute vintage-inspired shoes will always hold a place in my heart, but so will freely available contraception, gender discrimination laws and the right to vote!

Oh, I love the new layout, and bigger pictures. And as far as this Orla Kierly presentation, I already went absolutely crazy over it yesterday when I saw it featured on another blog, but your pictures (which are always perfection) make me want to drool all over it again.

Simply stunning, a knockout collection from Orla Kiely as always, and great photos! I’ve just discovered your blog, and love the design and content. I have re-posted your images over on my bloghttp://www.alittlevintagestory.blogspot.com hope that’s ok. xx Fran

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Hello!

I'm Kristina and I live by the sea in Brighton and work as a freelance illustrator. I dig cats, sequins, the internet, Nancy Mitford, cream teas, the Pre-Raphaelites and naps among other things.
This blog is a medley of drawings, photos and anything else I find pleasing to the eye.